Lacy Top Knitting Patterns

I don’t know how the weather is where you are, but where I live it seems to have gone straight from April (cool, a little bit of rain) to July (hot and humid, though we’re also getting the kind of rain we typically do in May). It’s got me thinking about summer knits, particularly projects with a bit of lace or eyelets to make them even cooler to wear in the hot weather. Here are some lacy top knitting patterns that have recently caught my eye.

If you want the look of lace without the work, you can just knit stockinette stitch on bigger needles than you’d normally use for the yarn. This makes a lovely openwork design with no effort on your part. It would be great for a beach cover or wearing over a sun dress. You can grab this pattern from Ile Aiye on Etsy.

This simple lace top from Through the Stitch on Etsy is a great one to try if you’ve never knit lace before. It has easy lace stitches combined with drop stitches and is worked flat in two pieces so it’s easy to make. It comes in three sizes.

Looking for just a little bit of lace? The Hanging Ferns top from Adèle Hempel uses superfine yarn and has lace on the yoke with a stockinette stitch body that has little lace panels at the side seams. This top is lightweight and pretty to wear for any occasion. It’s available in nine sizes and you can buy it on Ravelry.

The Helix Halter from Jessie Maed Designs has easy lace columns that look like ribbing on this fun halter top. You have the option of knitting sleeves that are open at the shoulders or keeping it as a sleeveless top. The pattern has nine sizes, is worked in superfine yarn, and you can find it on Ravelry.

Combine a textured stitch on the front of your top with a lace back with the By the Dock Top from Paintbox Yarns, which you can find at LoveCrafts. It uses DK weight yarn, has seven size options and is rated for intermediate knitters.

Feather and fan is one of the easiest lace knitting patterns out there, and the Easy Breezy Tank Top by Jeannine Hoeffler on Ravelry uses this fun pattern as the bottom of the tank design. The top of the top is worked in stockinette so you don’t have to worry about coverage.

A Lacy, Short-Sleeved Sweater Knitting Pattern for Summer

A Lightweight, Lacy Tee that’s Perfect for Summer Knitting

This Lacy Crop Top is Perfect for Summer

Knit a Great Lacy Cardigan with this Fun Knitalong

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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